U-bolt clamp



March 18, 1969 A. J. Hx-:NSLEY U-BOLT CLAMP Filed Sept. 22, 1967 f .y a 2 Caf/@Q United States Patent O 3,432,893 U-BOLT CLAMP Arthur J. Hensley, Milwaukee, Wis., assigner of two-thirds to R. L. Lochen, Milwaukee, Wis. Filed Sept. 22, 1967, Ser. No. 669,889 U.S. Cl. 24--135 3 Claims Int. Cl. F16g 11/04 ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Disclosed herein is a U-bolf: clamp having an anvil with holes through which legs of the U-bolt extend, a low nut on one of the bolt legs and a high nut on the other bolt leg to be accessible to a wrench extending over the low nut.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Where a conventional U-bolt clamp is positioned adjacent a lateral obstruction, such as a wall, it is dii'licult to tighten the inboard bolt which is adjacent the wall because the outboard bolt interferes with swinging the wrench through a suicient arc to materially advance the inboard bolt on its threaded shank of the U-bolt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a clamp embodying the invention disposed adjacent a lateral obstruction.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the high nut, portions of the nut wall being broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross section taken through the U- bolt clamp and obstruction of FIG. 1.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Although the disclosure hereof is -detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. The scope of the invention is dened in the claims appended hereto.

' In all respects, except for the high nut 10, the U-bolt clamp shown herein is conventional. It typically consists of an anvil 11 having holes 12 through which the legs 16, 17 of U-bolt 13 extend. Legs 16, 17 are of equal length. Heretofore, both legs 16, 17 of the U-bolt 13 have been provided with nuts of equal height. Accordingly, when pieces such as cables 14 to be clamped together by the clamp are disposed near a wall or other lateral obstruction, such as the channel beam 15, it is diicult to tighten the nut on the inboard leg 16 of the U-bolt 13. This is because the obstruction and nut on the outboard leg of the U-bolt restrict the free space n which a wrench can be swung, There is, of course, no problem with tightening the nut on the outboard bolt leg 17 because this nut is readily accessible to the wrench and has ample free space thereabout through which the wrench can swing.

In accordance with the present invention, the outboard U-bolt leg L17 is provided with a conventional low nut 20. However, the inboard U-bolt leg 16 is provided with a high nut 10. High nut 10 is two or three times longer in the axial direction than low nut 20. Desirably, it has a circular shank 21 and a faceted head 22. At its lower end it may have an annular rib 23. In the disclosed embodiment, the axial bore 24 through the nut 10` is threaded throughout its length. If desired, the portion of bore 24 Within faceted head 22 could be left unthreaded.

When the high nut 10 is threaded onto the inboard U- bolt leg 16, the threads 24 in the circular shank portion 21 of the nut engage the bolt threads. However, the faceted head 22 thereof extends upwardly to align laterally with the free space above the level of the low nut 20 on the outboard leg 17 of the U-bolt 13. Accordingly, a wrench 2S can engage the faceted head 22 of high nut 10 with ample room to swing over the low nut 20 as the high nut 10 is tightened.

A workman engaged in splicing pieces such as cables 14 will carry a supply of conventional U-bolt clamps, a supply of high nuts 10 and a supply of low nuts 20. Wherever one leg of the U-bolt 13 is laterally obstructed, the workman will thread a high nut 10 on the inboard U-bolt leg and a low nut on the outboard U-bolt leg, thus to achieve the advantages of the invention.

I claim:

1. A clamp comprising:

an anvil with spaced holes,

a U-bolt having threaded legs extending through the anvil holes,

a low nut on one leg of the U-bolt,

and a high nut longer in its axial direction than the low nut on the outer leg of the U-bolt and extending beyond the level of the low nut to be accessible to a wrench extending over the said low nut.

2. The clamp of claim 1 in which said high nut has a shank laterally aligned with the low nut and a faceted head thereabove.

3. The clamp of claim 2 in which said high nut has internal threads extending throughout its axial length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 208,428 8/ 1967 Holliday 85-32 508,187 11/1893 Smith 24-135 X 1,135,695 4/1915 Kennedy 85-1 1,288,176 12/1918 Pleister 24-135 1,604,369 10/1926 Spencer 24-135 2,653,787 9/1953 Myrick 24-125 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,330,532 5/1963 France.

BERNARD A. SELAK, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 3 39-265 

